Suggested Cities to Stealth Camp

[mdoverl]

I currently live in Des Moines, Iowa where I work doing Information Technology Contracts and stealth camp.

I'm currently looking for my next IT contract and was wondering if there is a City/Town that some would consider a great place to work/stealth camp in?

If anyone is wondering, I currently live in a 2007 Prius and stealth camp in hotel parking lots, truck stops, Walmart, and commercial parking lots.

 

[lenny flank]

Most cities in California are unfriendly. Same with Florida, Colorado, and Arizona.

It's an impossible question to answer though as the local law varies so much from city to city, and it also depends on what work you are doing.

Approach it from the opposite end--what cities are you interested in where you would be able to work?

Go from there.

 

[GraceinMotion]

I would suggest my own city, Madison WI, but it's already way too cold for vehicle dwelling IMO. Consider it when the weather is conducive though. We need workers! There are a bunch of people living in vehicles/campers near downtown and they don't seem to get hassled because there is a group of them that hang out in the same general area. A few stragglers left, but the temps are on the way down, so they may move on soon.

 

[mdoverl]

Most cities in California are unfriendly. Same with Florida, Colorado, and Arizona.

It's an impossible question to answer though as the local law varies so much from city to city, and it also depends on what work you are doing.

Approach it from the opposite end--what cities are you interested in where you would be able to work?

Go from there.

Thanks for the information. Cold weather doesn't bother me much. I spend the most time indoors, usually, at work when I have a contract, the library, and the gym for remaining day. I night if I find it too cold in the Prius, I just turn it on and set the temperature to 65 and I have no problem. I would definitely like to hang out with other vehicle dwellers as it's become very lonely the past year in Des Moines, Iowa. Being isolated and not being able to have friends due to living in a car has defienately taken a toll on me.

 

[frater secessus]

I am currently based around El Paso (until I retire with a pension in 2024).  It is a great place to stealth:

• wide streets and lots of street parking all over the place.  I think this is due to the large average family size.  
• low humidity is a godsend for stealthing
• It does get hot but the city is at ~4000' or so it's not crazy hot like Phoenix, etc. It freezes often in winter but it above freezing by noon the great majority of the time.  
• Lots of sun for solar power:  "The sun shines 302 days per year on average in El Paso, 83% of daylight hours"
• community wifi around rec centers and libraries, running 24/7.  Easily accesible from street parking and parking lots.  I take care not to waste bandwidth on this shared resource
• low crime rate
• super friendly people, intact families with well-behaved and happy children.  Older couples walking after dark, holding hands. 
• cheap and awesome Chihuahuan/Mexican food.  Non-hipster street trucks and stands.  
• BLM land just over the border in NM, and NF land (up to 9000') a few hours away in NM.
• can be used as a base to explore White Sands, Organ Mountains NM, Big Bend state and national parks, guadalupe NP, Carlsbad NP.
• Juarez is safe again and there are well-organized medical/dental tourism options
• Several Planet Fitness gyms for your showering needs
• an awesome place to learn and practice Spanish, since folks switch back and forth between the two languages as needed, often in mid-sentence.  Very fluid.  People are forgiving when you try.
• lots of hiking locally in the ginormous Franklin Mountains state park
• people are accepting of folks living minimally.  I think this is because so many grew up in the older parts of town where the neighborhoods are modest:  delightful tiny adobe houses/businesses.  Tiny houses before it was a fad!

There is more but I feel like I'm gushing.  I love this place. I am planning my first tattoo with will integrate the star on Franklin mountain. 

Bonus:  here is a partial list of local laws that affect 'dwellers.

 

[RVTravel]

For weeks i have noticed a guy living in a sedan in a parking lot...stuff outside car...raggedd clothes...never moves...just now saw his car surrounded by three leo cars...he was in a strip mall lot near a planet fitness.

 

[willingtorelocate]

I do sort of the same thing.
I'm an IT contractor as well. I tried doing the stealth camping thing when I first got my trailer in st louis, but realized quickly that it's a potentially dangerous (ie: you can get towed) way to go about doing it.

What I do instead is look to craigslist and facebook for garages or vacant lots. If there aren't any in the areas I want to go to (like this last time) I post an ad in housing wanted to the effect of "I want to live full time in my camper, parked in your vacant lot." It's a lot cheaper than renting, and you can usually get pretty close to work. Normally, you can get one that has electricity and water, which is nice.

Right now, I'm parked in a real eyesore of a lot in the middle of a residential neighborhood about 1.5 miles from the project site.

It's nice.
Just something to think about.

 

[willingtorelocate]

On the work side of things:
Kansas City used to be an exceptional place to find work. I haven't been there in a while, but it might still be. Don't know.
The boston corridor is pretty reliable, but a lot more expensive than the midwest.
Nashville and Bentonville Arkansas are surprisingly reliable places to find IT work these days.

 

[deadwood]

I would go where the better paying job is. You can always find a place to stealth park pretty much anywhere as long as you aren’t drawing attention to yourself. Even in the “harder to park” cities you can pretty much always find a place to blend in.

The hardest part is getting to a new area. It takes a little time to get the lay of the land so to speak. I came out to LA in November and it didn’t take long to keep finding new areas I thought were good spots. As I explored I just started saving locations in google maps when I came across a place I liked. Going into my third month here I have a ton of good spots to rotate though.

I’ve been full time for a little over a year now. And between working in Phoenix, Philadelphia and now LA I haven’t run into any problems yet.

 

[maki2]

Seattle, you don't even have to do it stealth, it is legal. There is no law against sleeping in your car. You do have to obey the signs about parking. One rule is your vehicle has to move every 72 hours. Vehicles wider than 80" can stay overnight only in areas that are zoned for industrial. In addition the showers at the city run recreation centers are free but you do have to bring your own towel and soap. Of course some of the larger public parks do have restrooms open during the day and there are a LOT of parks in Seattle including parks with beaches. Running really low on funds...there are a number of food banks and even free laundry facilities for low income individuals. The climate is moderate, but often damp in the winter months. Of course all of this and the high rents means there are quite a lot of people living in their vehicles. Cost of fuel and food is higher than many areas of the country. Bus service is decent. Lots of wifi towers, the downtown area and several miles to the north of downtown and several miles south are fiber optic cable which means the places such as the coffee shops have good speed for internet.

 

[willingtorelocate]

I would go where the better paying job is.

Be careful about that. Higher rates don't necessarily mean making more money. 

The big 3, the holy trinity of contacting companies, and a lot of the smaller ones are try to attract technical people from the midwest who don't understand what the rates look like in the bigger cities. So, they get paid full price for the labor, while offering wages that sound good to above average in the midewest -- but that are also less than enough to park on back east, or in california.

I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes you have to actively turn down work where the rate doesn't quite sound right for where you're going. The last thing you want is to be committed legally to complete a job, and then get there to find out that it'll literally kill you.  If it helps, the Tax Foundation did a survey a while back, where they listed out on a map the practical value of $100 in every state. For me, it's been a real life saver.

Sometimes though, being in the midwest, you can bid extremely competitively on remote jobs in places like San Francisco, which is awesome.

 

[Firebuild]

There is more but I feel like I'm gushing.  I love this place. 

I've never been to El Paso, but you sure make me want to check it out!

 

[Firebuild]

Seattle, you don't even have to do it stealth, it is legal. There is no law against sleeping in your car. You do have to obey the signs about parking.  One rule is your vehicle has to move every 72 hours. 

It is also legal in New York City and Los Angeles. I was surprised to learn this! That doesn't make them the most hospitable places to camp, of course, but both are quite large with any different types of areas. 
A friend of a friend lives in a construction trailer that has a "security" sign on it in the middle of NYC. He rents a parking place at the edge of a public lot. No one hassles him, and it's cheap.

 

[RVTravel]

Here is the tax foundation site...
https://taxfoundation.org/real-value-100-each-state

 

[maki2]

Here is the tax foundation site...
https://taxfoundation.org/real-value-100-each-state

does anyone else find it ironic that the District of Columbia...meaning Washington DC , the location of the capitol of the USA ..has the worst value for $100.00?

 

[RVTravel]

Ironic indeed ; )

 

[lenny flank]

It's awfully expensive there in DC.

I bet Silicon Valley is really far down that list too. Awfully expensive there, too.

 

[willingtorelocate]

DC's pretty expensive, but the public transportation options are some of the best in the country.
They've got subways and busses. You can get anywhere in the city in a few minutes.

It's also no that bad if you park over the border and commute in. You'll save a ton of money if you can find a place to camp out in maryland.